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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · chair · vault · pitch · row · lie · roll · degree

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. row — a line
  6. lie — to recline
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. roll — a list
  10. vault — a safe
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com